The invention described herein was made in the performance of official duties by employees of the Department of the Navy and may be manufactured, used, licensed by or for the Government for any governmental purpose without payment of any royalties thereon.
This patent application is co-pending with one related patent application entitled xe2x80x9cMETHOD OF ISOLATING RELEVANT SUBJECT MATTER IN AN IMAGExe2x80x9d (Navy Case No. 78879), and having the same assignee as this patent application.
The invention relates generally to image processing and display, and more particularly to an image processing tool that can isolate and then manipulate relevant subject matter of a two-dimensional image for improved image visualization and analysis.
While many two-dimensional images can be viewed with the naked eye for simple analysis, many other two-dimensional images must be carefully examined and analyzed. One of the most commonly examined/analyzed two-dimensional images is an x-ray of living beings or inanimate structures. For example, a mammogram is a common film x-ray usually taken with an x-ray machine dedicated to breast imaging. A mammogram usually has low contrast because of the similarity in optical density of breast tissue structures and because only a limited amount of ionizing radiation can be safely received by the patient. The mammogram image also has fairly low resolution due to inherent limits of the x-ray filming process, cost constraints, and the interrelationships of tissue structures in the three-dimensional breast. All of these issues make it difficult to detect breast malignancies, especially in the earliest stages thereof.
Currently, doctors are limited to examining mammogram by visually examining the original x-ray backed by a light source. The only enhancements available are crude ones such as using a magnifying glass, tweaking the contrast on an image viewer, or filtering the image by blocking out a range of pixel intensity levels. Statistics indicate that an estimated twenty percent of malignancies present in mammograms are missed by doctors, usually because they are too small or faint (i.e., low intensity) to be noticed on the initial screening or they were partially obscured by other imaged tissues. Also, the known difficulty of discerning small malignancies forces doctors to take a very conservative approach when reviewing mammograms. Thus, biopsies are often ordered simply because the mammogram is not clear. However, in about eighty percent of patients sent for biopsy, no malignancy is found. As a result, thousands of unnecessary biopsies are performed each year. Each biopsy represents a risk to the patient and can cause the formation of scar tissue in the area of the biopsy which may obscure detection of future problems.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of improving two-dimensional images which must be examined and analyzed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manipulating image data in order to present same in a form that is most useful to the image examiner at the time of analysis.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manipulating image data related to a plurality of two-dimensional images so that the examiner can easily compare and contrast the images.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.
In accordance with the present invention, image data is manipulated for improved image visualization and analysis. Digital data is provided that represents grey scale values of a two-dimensional image of relevant subject matter and a substantially homogeneous background that at least partially borders on the relevant subject matter. A first sub-image is defined from the two-dimensional image. The first sub-image includes the relevant subject matter and a reduced amount of the substantially homogeneous background. A second sub-image is defined from the first sub-image. The second sub-image substantially defines just the relevant subject matter. A plurality of image processing options are selected from a library of image processing options. The second sub-image is then processed in accordance with the image processing options to generate image output data. The image output data can be displayed for viewing and/or analysis.